Jonne Valtonen

Jonne Valtonen is a Finnish composer, arranger and orchestrator. He is renowned for his contributions in the field of demoscene and tracker music, under the name Purple Motion, and with Future Crew.

Jonne Valtonen
Background information
Also known asPurple Motion
BornTurku, Finland
GenresOrchestral, new age, electronic
Occupation(s)Composer, arranger, orchestrator, musician
Instrument(s)Piano
Keyboard
Harp
Years active1991–present
Websitewww.valtone.com

Life and early career

Jonne Valtonen was born in Turku, Finland and was raised in Kaarina along with his brother. He began learning to play classical piano at the age of nine.[1]

Valtonen's first music compositions were done on his home computer, a Commodore 64. During his teen years, he became involved in the PC demoscene where he was able to pursue his passion for electronic music production. He has won several awards in this field. Between 1991 and 1996 Valtonen created music for Future Crew, one of the most widely known groups in the demoscene at the time. Eventually he became their lead composer under the pseudonym Purple Motion, chosen as a tribute to the British rock group Deep Purple.[2] Some of his best-known compositions are UnreaL ][ / PM[3][4][5][6] (from Future Crew demo Second Reality), Satellite One,[7] and Starshine.[8][9]

Valtonen has become very interested in the human voice. He sings in a mixed choir (Näsin Ääni, Tampere). He also started learning to play the harp.[10]

Educational background

Jonne Valtonen graduated from classical composition at the Pirkanmaa Polytechnic in Finland in 2009. He has received training in composition under the guidance of Hannu Pohjannoro, Oliver Kohlenberg, and Juhani Nuorvala. He has also studied under Magnus Lindberg, Jukka Tiensuu, Kirmo Lintinen and Michael Nyman in various composition masterclasses.[1]

Working for the entertainment industry

In 1996, Jonne Valtonen began doing commission work for major game developers in Finland, namely Remedy Entertainment, Housemarque and Bugbear Entertainment.[11] During the same time, he served as the musical director for the TeatteriSusi theatre, where he composed music for several plays including Dracula, The Miser and Don Quijote.

In 1998, Jonne Valtonen co-founded his company Valtone Oy, specialising in music productions for the entertainment industry. Continuing on this path, he also contributed two titles, in 2000 and 2002, for the Merregnon trilogy, an international soundtrack project featuring orchestral music by veteran video game composers from all over the world, such as Chris Hülsbeck and Yuzo Koshiro. In 2002, Valtonen's talent was recognized again when he was presented with the Best Soundtrack Award at the International Fest of Cinema & Technology for the movie House by the Sea, directed by Janne Ketola.[12] In 2004, Jonne Valtonen released his first professionally mastered audio CD, Musicdisk featuring tracks from his demoscene past.

At the beginning of 2008, Jonne Valtonen took the position of the music lead for all live orchestra projects at Merregnon Studios, a company managed by Thomas Böcker and involved in productions of video game music concerts around the world, and several live recordings for publishers/developers such as THQ US, SEGA Japan and Square Enix Japan.[13]

Orchestra arrangements

Drawing on his strong background in live orchestra work and his studies, Jonne Valtonen has been arranging and orchestrating music for video game concerts since 2005. He has earned worldwide recognition as the main arranger of the annual video game music concerts of the German WDR Radio Orchestra, namely Symphonic Shades (2008), Symphonic Fantasies (2009), Symphonic Legends (2010), and Symphonic Odysseys (2011).[14]

In addition to the WDR Radio Orchestra, his arrangements have been performed by orchestras and choirs around the world, as well as at concert halls including Sydney Opera House, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Max Fisher Music Center Detroit, Esplanade Singapore, Cologne Philharmonic Hall, and Konserthuset Stockholm. His portfolio includes major franchises such as Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Galaxy, The Elder Scrolls, Metal Gear Solid, Kingdom Hearts, The Legend of Zelda, and Castlevania.[14] In 2007, he arranged and orchestrated music for Sega's arcade game series World Club Champion Football which was recorded with a live orchestra and choir in Prague.[15]

Game music arrangements

Contemporary works (excerpt)
  • 2003 Unelma Mäntästä (short film)
  • 2004 Aukeus! (contemporary music)
  • 2005 Mimesis (viola solo)
  • 2005 Virtapiirileikki (contemporary music)
  • 2006 Production Values (trumpet miniconcerto)
  • 2007 Pianosonata I
  • 2007 Piece for chamber orchestra and soprano
  • 2007 Tales from the kitch – series (solo piano)
  • 2008 Tango Nellille (WDR commission work, concert premiere on March 6, 2010)
  • 2009 Fanfare overture (WDR commission work, concert premiere on September 12, 2009)
  • 2009 .wav for string orchestra
  • 2010 End credits for an orchestra (concert premiere on July 10, 2010, with the WDR Radio Orchestra)
  • 2010 Fanfare for the Common 8-bit Hero (WDR commission work, concert premiere on July 10, 2010)
  • 2013 Culicidae Night (for Male Voice Choir)
  • 2017 Tales from the Moominvalley - musical suite for the orchestra, children's choir and soloists (Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra commission work, concert premiere on August 9, 2017)
  • 2018 The Blue Bird (cello/piano duo and string orchestra)
  • 2019 Song of the Scarlet Flower (Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra commission work, concert premiere on April 12, 2019)

Theater music (excerpt)

Game soundtracks (excerpt)

Discography
  • 2000 Merregnon Soundtrack, Volume 1 (two compositions, synSONIQ Records)
  • 2004 Musicdisk (first solo album)
  • 2004 Merregnon Soundtrack, Volume 2 (two compositions, English and Japanese edition, Merregnon Studios/Soulfood Distribution/Dex Entertainment)
  • 2007 Number Nine (Turrican 3 Piano Suite arrangement, synSONIQ Records)
  • 2008 Symphonic Shades (live concert arrangement and orchestration, Merregnon Studios/synSONIQ Records)
  • 2008 Musica e WCCF secondo movimento (live orchestra and choir arrangement and orchestration, Wave Master)
  • 2010 Symphonic Fantasies (live concert arrangement and orchestration, Decca Records/Square Enix)
  • 2010 Benyamin Nuss plays Uematsu (piano arrangement, Deutsche Grammophon)
  • 2012 Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo (live concert arrangement and orchestration, Merregnon Studios/Square Enix)
  • 2012 Folk Tunes (Kahden Kauppa composition for Spark, Deutsche Grammophon)
  • 2019 Tracked (1991-2000)
  • 2022 Space Chase (single)
  • 2022 Artificial Love (single)

Awards
  • 1992 Assembly: 1st place, Unreal Soundtrack
  • 1993 Assembly: 1st place, Second Reality Soundtrack
  • 1993 Assembly: 1st place, Sundance
  • 1993 Aggressive Party: 1st place, Shadowrun
  • 1999 Assembly: 1st place, Credits
  • 2002 IFCT Award: Best Original Soundtrack, House by the Sea
  • 2006 Isofestival: 2nd place, Mimesis for Viola
  • 2007 Adagio Composition Contest: Honorable mention, Elegiac (for string orchestra)
  • 2015 Game music awards, Finland 2015 : 1st place
  • 2017 Game music awards, Finland 2017 : 1st place
  • 2017 Arts Promotion Centre Finland - Pirkanmaa fine art award, Finland 2017

References
  1. Spielekonzerte, Official biography (accessed 2014-10-24)
  2. Official Purple Motion message board, Purple Motion – why this nick name? Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (accessed 2008-06-25)
  3. "The Mod Archive v4.0b - A distinctive collection of modules - UnreaL ][ / PM - 2ND_PM.S3M (S3M)". modarchive.org.
  4. ArmandVanHell (January 31, 2014). "Unreal ][ / PM - 2ND_PM.S3M" – via YouTube.
  5. 21nosreprd (March 3, 2012). ""UnreaL ][ / PM" by purple motion" – via YouTube.
  6. Axel Rafn Benediktsson (February 14, 2009). "Unreal 2 music by Purple Motion of Future Crew" – via YouTube.
  7. Prizm (November 5, 2010). "Satellite One by Purple Motion" – via YouTube.
  8. THROBiX (October 5, 2008). "Purple Motion - Starshine" – via YouTube.
  9. Nectarine radio, Song charts (accessed 2014-05-04)
  10. VGM Rush biography, Jonne Valtonen Archived April 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (accessed 2009-04-07)
  11. MobyGames, Valtonen's profile page (accessed 2008-06-25)
  12. IFCT award, Official website (accessed 2008-06-25)
  13. Symphonic Shades interview, Valtonen music lead at Merregnon Studios (accessed 2008-06-25)
  14. Concert producer Boecker speaks, Valtonen's arrangements (accessed 2008-06-25)
  15. MUSA website list, Game credits WCCF Archived December 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (accessed 2008-06-25)
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